Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1887-08-18

through him near the heart. And yet he
lived to be 70 years old, lacking but three
months; and during thirty years lived in
peace, wealth and local honor in Utah.
John Taylor was born Nov. 1, 1903, in
Milnthorp, Westmoreland county, England,
where he was reared a Dissenter and in early
life became Methodist. In 1882 he emi-
grated to Canada, and was soon in the midst
of that wonderful religious ferment which
swept over America, especially the western
sections, during that era. 1t was the age
of religious debates, of which the Rice
Campbell and Campbell Purcell discus
sions, with many others, are the permanent
remains i'll our literature. Ohio was
the great battle ground of new sects, and
thence missionaries went to Canada, by one
of whom Taylor was second time converted,
becoming a radical Wesleyan or Progressist
In 1886 he became Mormon, gathering with
the saints" at Kirkland, O., i'll 1887. About
that time however, the Mormon bank broke,
The 'Kirtland Safety society" money fell to
six cents ON the dollar, and then to nothing;
creditors seized the goods of the Kirkland
store; indictments issued against some of the
saints for swindling and others for counter
feiting, and the leaders fled to Missouri. The
northwestern part of that state; war between
them and the Gentiles broke out, and late i'll
1883 the whole Mormon population was ex-
PEELED, with much cruelty. They settled
about Nauvoo, in Hancock county, Ills, and
prospered greatly until 1928, when trouble
again arose with the non-Mormons. Ali this
time Taylor was working hard for the sect
and rising in rank as well as accommodating
property He was now an apostle Gone of
the quorum Of twelve" as the phrase is).
In 1S43 the doctrine of plural marriage"
was quietly taught to the trusted ones, and
the leading saints took unto themselves extra
wives. Early the next year a few men
seeded from the church and established The
Expositor, a newspaper i'll Nauvoo, to oppose
the new doctrine, but they only issued one
number. The Prophet Joseph Smith
promptly convened the city council, had the
paper declared nuisance and, with his de-
voted gang" at once destroyed the press,
scattered the type and burned all the copies
they could get. The editors fled to Carthage,
the county seat, and procured warrants for
the prophet and Hyrum $50 spelled by Nor
mons, his brother; the saints in turn forti-
fled Nauvoo, and bade defiance to the county
officials. The governor of Illinois persuaded
them to surrender on pledge of protection,
but they were soon taken out of his hands on
a new charge, that of treason. Joseph and
Hyrum Smith were placed in the Carthage
iail. treason not being bailable, and Willard
Richards and John Taylor went with them
for company On the afternoon of June q,
1874. mob stormed the jail, killed both the
Smiths and shot Taylor with four balls.
Three entered his body, two of them remain
ing there for the rest of his life; but the
fourth ball struck a heavy, old fashioned
English watch he wore, stopping the hands at
$40 ~ m., which is marked among the saints
as the 'solemn hour of the prophets DEATH"
TAYLOR recovered after long illness, and fled
with the saints when they were driven from
Illinois in 1916. In 1S47 he yielded his claims,
and Joined the Pratts and others in making
Brigham Young president of the church.
For the next ten years Taylor was a mis-
sonary in various countries. He had the
"Book of Mormon" translated into French,
and established LEtoile THE STAR, Nor
mon paper, in France. In common with
other missionaries, he bitterly denied the
charge that polygamy was Mormon prac-
tice. In France he took solemn oath to that
effect, and at public debate with three Eng
lish ministers he vehemently denied that
Mormon could have more than one wife,
though he had three himself at that time
All the Mormon missionaries continued this
system of perjury till the public avowal of
the doctrine at Salt Lake City in September;
1852, and the publication of the alleged reve-
lation of July 12, 1s43, first published in
England in April, 1858. Taylor then re-
turned to the United States and established
The Mormon in New York city in 1854, but
the Mormon war of 1857 broke up all the
American missions, and thereafter Taylor re-
sided in Salt Lake City. When Brigham
Young died, in 1877, Taylor was president of
the Twelve Apostles, and that body ruled till
1880, when the first presidency was reorgan-
lied anew and Taylor chosen to all the titles
and honors of the dead prophet. He was,
however, far more timid and conservative
than Young, and made few feeble efforts to
harmonize the church with modern ciyiliza-
ton. When the Edmunds law of 1889 was
enacted he vehemently charged the people, as
they valued their souls, never to obey it, never
to give up polygamy; but promptly declared
that he did not intend to be a martyr, and be
took himself to safe hiding place, where he
remained till death.